Loud & Clear

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Leo Cuello, an attorney and the director of health policy for the National Health Law Program.Vice President Pence said yesterday that coronavirus testing and treatment will be covered by Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance companies. But what about those Americans who don’t have insurance coverage? Will they elect to not get tested at all? After spending some $700 million of his own money and winning only a handful of delegates, former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg dropped out of the race and endorsed Joe Biden. And now Bloomberg is putting even more money where his mouth is. He is transferring all of his prepaid assets--campaign offices, staff, and even advertising--to Biden. Meanwhile, Elizabeth Warren announced that she was dropping out of the race. Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter, a columnist for CounterPunch, and a contributor to The Nation, Extra! and Salon.com, and whose writings are at ThisCantBeHappen

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, whose work is at www.rall.com, and Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the book “No More War: How the West Violates International Law by Using 'Humanitarian' Intervention to Advance Economic and Strategic Interests.”Yesterday was Super Tuesday and it was a very big day for Joe Biden. Two weeks ago it looked like the former Vice President’s campaign was all but dead. But yesterday he became the clear frontrunner, besting Bernie Sanders in 10 of the 14 state contests. Biden won in Alabama, Arkansas, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia. Sanders won in California, Colorado, Utah, and Vermont. Mike Bloomberg took American Samoa and then dropped out of the race this morning. But in the end, is it Donald Trump who was really the big winner? The peace agreement between the United States an

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Nicole Roussell, a Sputnik News analyst and producer.Today is Super Tuesday, and voters in 14 states and American Samoa or going to the polls to choose a Democratic candidate for president. Fully one third of all the delegates necessary to win the nomination will be chosen today. There’s been a lot of movement in the race in the past day or two. Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar dropped out of the race and they and Beto O’Rourke all endorsed Joe Biden.The coronavirus continues to spread across the United States, and six more people died from it yesterday in Washington State. People have now tested positive for coronavirus in 18 states, and the Centers for Disease Control estimates that as many as 70 percent of Americans eventually will become infected. Hospitals already are preparing for a pandemic, and schools, theaters, and other gathering places are making contingency plans to close. KJ Noh, a peace activist and scholar

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jodi Dean, a professor of Political Science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a commentator on political issues, whose latest book is called “Comrade.”Super Tuesday is tomorrow, with voters in 14 states and American Samoa going to the polls to cast votes for Democratic candidates for president. California and Texas are the big prizes, with about a third of all delegates necessary for the nomination between them. The Democratic Party elite are desperate to stop Sanders. A second American has died of the coronavirus, this time a man in his 70s from Kirkland, Washington. The virus apparently is more virulent than previously thought, and its victims likely have been undercounted in the United States because of delays in testing. Meanwhile, the disease is spreading across Europe and the United States. Mike Wong, the Vice President of the San Francisco chapter of Veterans for Peace, joins the show. The United States and the

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ben Norton, he’s associate editor and journalist with The Grayzone and co-host of the Moderate Rebels podcast, and Sputnik News analyst and producer Walter Smolarek.In this segment, The Week Ahead, the hosts take a look at the most newsworthy stories of the coming week and what it means for the country and the world, including economic effects of the coronavirus, the 2020 primary and establishment attack on Bernie Sanders, and more. The South Carolina primary is tomorrow and the latest polls show that Joe Biden is surging in the state. He has 36 percent to Bernie Sanders’ 16 percent and Tom Steyer at 15. Sanders is leading in just about every Super Tuesday state, meanwhile, and he is campaigning today in Massachusetts, trying to win that from Elizabeth Warren. Dr. Jack Rasmus, a professor of economics at Saint Mary's College of California and author of “the scourge of neo-liberalism: US policy from Reagan to trump,” whose w

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dr. Saskia Popescu, an infection prevention epidemiologist whose research focuses on the poor utilization of infection prevention and control within the United States.President Trump yesterday tried to downplay the spread of the coronavirus as he appointed Vice President Trump to lead the country’s efforts to contain the outbreak. But as the virus spreads, can the US healthcare system keep up? With the South Carolina primary coming up this weekend, and Super Tuesday just around the corner on Tuesday, the 2020 race for the Democratic Party nominee is heating up. Bernie Sanders is the frontrunner and is being attacked from all sides, including other candidates, of course, but also the corporate-owned media and the DNC. Darren Gibson, a host of the radio show and podcast Southpaws, a political analysis show focusing on social & economic issues, on Pacifica and also on Global Community Radio Mondays at 9:00 pm, joins the show

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist, whose work is at www.rall.com.Last night’s Democratic debate in Charleston, South Carolina was a free-for-all, with six candidates attacking frontrunner Bernie Sanders and a resurgence of the pointed fight between Elizabeth Warren and Mike Bloomberg. Meanwhile, Joe Biden did his best to convince viewers that he has the most experience and the best chance of beating Trump. Today is Day 3 of the Julian Assange extradition hearing in London. Julian’s attorneys today continued laying out their defense of the Wikileaks co-founder, arguing that his prosecution is political in nature and that he should not be extradited to the United States. Walter Smolarek, a Sputnik News analyst and producer who is at the courthouse where the hearing is taking place, joins the show. The House Judiciary Committee yesterday introduced a bill to reauthorize the Foreign Intelligence and Su

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Walter Smolarek, a Sputnik News analyst and producer at the courthouse where the hearing is taking place.Today is Day 2 of the Julian Assange extradition hearing in London. Julian’s attorneys today began laying out their defense of the Wikileaks co-founder, arguing that his prosecution is political in nature and that he should not be extradited to the United States. Another Democratic debate is scheduled for tonight, this time in South Carolina. Media commentators are unanimous in their belief that just about everybody will attack frontrunner Bernie Sanders tonight, with challenger Mike Bloomberg announcing earlier in the day that he will focus all of his upcoming media spend on hitting Sanders. Meanwhile, the latest polls show Joe Biden slightly ahead of Sanders. Bloomberg is not on the ballot. Ted Rall, an award-winning editorial cartoonist and columnist whose work is at www.rall.com, joins the show. Our friend Lee Camp has

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Henry Williams, executive director of the Gravel Institute and the former co-director of the Mike Gravel for President Committee.Bernie Sanders won the Nevada caucuses convincingly on Saturday, setting himself apart as the candidate to beat for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Sanders finished with 46.8 percent, followed by Joe Biden at 20.4, Pete Buttigieg at 13.9, and Elizabeth Warren at 9.8. They all now move to South Carolina for that state’s primary on Saturday, which will follow a debate mid-week. The blame game continued over the weekend, as CNN, MSNBC, the Washington Post, the New York Times, and other outlets accused Russia of somehow “interfering” in the 2020 election. The accusations came out of a statement that a senior intelligence official apparently made last week in a closed meeting of the House Intelligence Committee, when he said that Intelligence Community analysis indicated that Russia “preferr

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Aaron Maté, a journalist with The Grayzone and The Nation. Check out his podcast Pushback with Aaron Maté.A senior US intelligence official told lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week that Russia wants to see President Trump reelected. The comment infuriated the President and sent shockwaves through Washington. But what, exactly, is it based on? It appears to have been an off-handed comment by a CIA analyst. And Acting Director of National Intelligence John McGuire apparently did not offer any intelligence to support the statement. Nevada voters will caucus on Saturday and will decide who they want to be the Democratic nominee for President. The latest polls show Bernie Sanders with a commanding lead in the state. He’s at 31 percent, with Pete Buttigieg at 17 percent, Joe Biden at 16, Elizabeth Warren at 12, Amy Klobuchar at 11, Tom Steyer at 10, and Tulsi Gabbard at 2 percent. The candidates will then focus on the South Carolin

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jim Kavanagh, the editor of thepolemicist.net, and Sputnik news analyst and producer Nicole Roussell.There was a bare-fisted street brawl in Las Vegas last night, and a Democratic presidential debate broke out. Indeed, the New York Post called last night’s debate “the single best debate in the history of American politics.” That may be a stretch, but Mike Bloomberg looked unprepared, angry, and defensive. Elizabeth Warren looked like the big winner of the evening, as she relentlessly pummelled Bloomberg. Pete Buttigieg seemed to hold his own, and Bernie Sanders appears to have come out on top with no real damage other than over his medical records. Thursday’s weekly series “Criminal Injustice” is about the most egregious conduct of our courts and prosecutors and how justice is denied to so many people in this country. Paul Wright, the founder and executive director of the Human Rights Defense Center and editor of Prison Legal

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Carolyn Gomez, a healthcare labor organizer in Southern California.Workers across the country are in ascension. A group of Walmart employees this week marched in New York to the luxury penthouse of Walmart heiress Alice Walton, where they protested the company’s treatment of its workers. Indeed, in 2005, 20 percent of the retail giant’s workers were part-time. Now that number is 50 percent. That has allowed the Walton family to drastically cut costs and add to its $191 billion fortune. Meanwhile, hospital and healthcare workers across the country are launching union drives and organizing protests for better wages and working conditions, saying that they can’t afford their own healthcare. Billionaire Michael Bloomberg will face his opponents in the Democratic primary on the debate stage for the first time tonight. His extreme wealth has helped insulate him from criticism so far. Meanwhile, Bernie Sanders is dominating the poll

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, John Kiriakou is joined by Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter, a columnist for CounterPunch, a contributor to The Nation, Extra! and Salon.com, and at ThisCantBeHappening.net.Nevada voters will caucus on Saturday in the first test of strength in the West for Democratic presidential candidates. The big question mark is whether a counting app, or counting tool as the DNC is now calling it, is going to work after failing so spectacularly in Iowa. In the meantime, Bernie Sanders has surged to a double-digit lead in national polls, followed by Mike Bloomberg. Joe Biden has dropped to third nationally. And Democrats will debate on Wednesday. It is the first debate for which Bloomberg qualifies. Another day, another hit piece against Sputnik Radio in the mainstream corporate media. This time, CBS News decided to essentially repeat an earlier New York Times piece about Sputnik operating in Kansas City, MO. They even interviewed the same person as the New York Times, who

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by activist, author of “Shackled and Chained,” and journalist Eugene Puryear and Sputnik News analyst and producer Nicole Roussell.Friday is Loud & Clear’s weekly hour-long segment The Week in Review, about the week in politics, policy, and international affairs. Today they focus on Attorney General William Barr’s seemingly planned pushback against President Trump, Roger Stone’s sentencing, New Hampshire and the surging Sanders campaign, the myriad racist and deeply conservative statements and policies that Democratic candidate Michael Bloomberg has made over the years, several Democrats’ focus on taking Radio Sputnik off the air instead of issues their constituents care about, Trump’s proposed budget for 2021, and oligarchs in the form of Microsoft and Amazon fighting over public money.A federal judge in Washington yesterday ordered Microsoft to halt all work on a $10 billion cloud computing contract for the Pentagon. This

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Medea Benjamin, a well-known peace activist and the cofounder of the peace group Code Pink.A bipartisan bill that would limit President Trump’s ability to wage war against Iran is likely to pass in the Senate. The resolution is sponsored by Virginia Democrat Tim Kaine, and in a procedural vote on Tuesday, gained the support of all Democrats and eight Republicans, including Senator Rand Paul, a Trump confidant. Kaine says that the measure is an important reassertion of Congress’s power to declare war, but still voted with the vast majority of senators to approve a higher military budget than President Trump asked for. Troy Price, the chairman of the Iowa Democratic Party, resigned yesterday in the aftermath of the vote-counting debacle that shook the presidential caucus more than a week ago. And it wasn’t just the failure of a vote-counting app that forced Price out. The caucus was also rife with counting errors and inconsiste

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jodi Dean, a professor of Political Science at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a commentator on political issues, and her latest book is called “Comrade.”Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders won the New Hampshire primary last night, narrowly edging out former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg. Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar finished a strong third, with Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joe Biden finishing poorly. All other candidates were in the lower single digits, and entrepreneur Andrew Yang formally dropped out of the race. No candidate has ever won the Iowa Caucuses and the New Hampshire primary and failed to become the party’s nominee. So it looks like Bernie Sanders is the candidate to beat. All four prosecutors in the Roger Stone case resigned yesterday after a public dressing down from senior Justice Department officials over the prosecution’s desire to sentence Stone to 7-9 years in pr

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Jamarl Thomas of Progressive Soapbox, and soon of Political Misfits, which will be on from 12:00-2:00 starting next Tuesday right here on Sputnik Radio.The New Hampshire Primary is today with voters heading to the polls until 7:00. 33 Democrats are on the ballot, and every poll released today shows Bernie Sanders leading by 7 or 8 percentage points, followed by Pete Buttigieg. Some polls show Amy Klobuchar in third place, while others have Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden tied for third. Roger Stone is facing prison time for lying to Congress and witness tampering in the Russia investigation. President Trump immediately took to Twitter, calling the prosecution of Stone unfair and saying, “I cannot allow this miscarriage of justice.” And now the Justice Department seems to be backing off. Daniel Lazare, a journalist and author of three books--“The Frozen Republic,” “The Velvet Coup,” and “America's Undeclared War,” joins the sho

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Dave Lindorff, an investigative reporter, a columnist for CounterPunch, and a contributor to The Nation, Extra! and Salon.com, whose writings are at ThisCantBeHappening.net.Voters will go to the polls tomorrow in New Hampshire to make their choice for the Democratic nominee for president as the Iowa Democratic Party remains mired in controversy after announcing official results that are sure to be challenged. And as Democrats attack each other on the campaign trail, polls are showing a more clearly defined race with Bernie Sanders in the lead, followed by Pete Buttigieg. Amy Klobuchar is third, with Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden tied for fourth. No other candidates are in double digits. President Trump today proposed a $4.8 trillion dollar federal budget that includes massive cuts to social safety net programs, including huge cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. The budget also calls for a

On the 1,000th episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Sputnik News analysts and producers Walter Smolarek and Nicole Roussell. Friday is Loud & Clear’s weekly hour-long segment The Week in Review, about the week in politics, policy, and international affairs. Today they focus on the Iowa caucus fiasco, Donald Trump’s acquittal in the impeachment trial, the State of the Union address, charges in Brazil dropped against journalist Glenn Greenwald, and more. Today is Loud & Clear’s 1,000th show. The team has been proud to provide listeners with a progressive take on the news that doesn’t exist in the mainstream media. Brian and John celebrate the milestone with some of the most esteemed guests and friends who have been regular guests on the show: · Max Blumenthal, a bestselling author, most recently of “The Management of Savagery,” the senior editor of The Grayzone, and co-host of the podcast “Moderate Rebels”· Paul Wright, the Executive Director of the H

On today's episode of Loud & Clear, Brian Becker and John Kiriakou are joined by Max Blumenthal, a bestselling author and journalist, whose latest film is “Killing Gaza,” senior editor of The Grayzone, and co-host of the podcast “Moderate Rebels.”As the Iowa caucus debacle continues to deepen, more and more people are asking: Who and what is behind Acronym, the company that developed the “Shadow” app at the heart of the vote counting disaster? Brian and John discuss the role of tech billionaire Reed Hoffman, one of the key financial backers of the company. It now appears that Bernie Sanders is headed for a victory in Iowa no matter what metric is used. But the corporate media still managed to deliver an undeserved victory to Pete Buttigieg, who’s enjoyed fawning coverage in the press since the caucuses despite his false claim to have won. Dan Kovalik, a human rights and labor lawyer who is the author of the book “No More War: How the West Violates International Law by Using 'Humanitarian' Intervention to